Her Leo
by prettylittleliar12
Summary: A story of a Esperanza Valdez and Leo Valdez in happier times. Esperanza loved her son. He was smart, witty, and sweet. He was Leo. Her Leo.


**Hello everyone! Just a sweet little one shot about Leo and his mom together when she was alive. Leo's story about his mum really upsetted me, but I really wanted to write something about Leo's relationship with his mother. PLEASEEEE review, I appreciate every single one of the! Enjoy! xx**

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Esperanza Valdez smiled warmly down at her energetic son beside her. Leo was drawing intricate lines with a metal ruler he found in her workshop, determined to get the measurements just right on whatever he was sketching. His tongue poked out the side of his mouth and his large amber coloured eyes were narrowed in concentration.

It was about ten o'clock on a Saturday night. Esperanza and Leo had spent the whole day together in the workshop, Esperanza working hard and Leo watching contently. He would walk around, exploring and building things with various bits and bobs he found in the shop. Now, Esperanza was done with her work for the night. But Leo was not. She decided that staying behind for a little while and spending time with Leo whilst he drew and sketched wouldn't be such a bad idea.

Leo traced the ruler with the mechanical pencil, connecting two lines on the paper. So far, his picture resembled a machine engine. It wasn't nearly done, Esperanza realized, but it was still in absolute detail. Spending so much time in the workshop with her, Leo had learnt a lot about machinery. He had even helped her fix an old motorcycle once, which was quite the achievement for an eight year old.

Leo glanced upwards at her, his warm eyes wide and sparkling with excitement. He was grinning cheekily, as he always was, and he seemed to be seeking approval of his mother.

Esperanza ran a hand through her son's thick oil black curls, smoothing them against his ta coloured forehead fondly. Her gaze was filled with nothing but love and pride, and she smiled encouragingly at Leo.

"It's great mijo. But very complicated. Would you like me to get the engine we were working on so you can copy the details?"

Leo nodded his head distractedly causing his dark curls to bounce on his head as he studied his paper and carefully erased a pencil stroke. Esperanza turned away to retrieve the object she sought after. She walked in between various projects in the shop, weaving in an out of benches and toolboxes and scrambling through blue prints in the search for the engine.

A rapping sound in the distance stopped Esperanza in her tracks just as she caught sight of the large car engine. It was a repeated pattern of taps, and Esperanza noticed she must have been gone for a good ten minutes. It was Leo using the Morse code she taught him.

'Where are you? Where are you?'

She stopped and used her pen to tap a reply on the nearby work bench.

'On my way. On my way.'

With much strain, Esperanza picked up the heavy car engine and lifted with all her might. It was considerably lighter than most engines, though still very heavy, because it was still missing many parts.

Esperanza only had it in her possession to use various parts from it for her new project. But after she had gotten use out of the old engine, Leo had insisted on finding new parts and making a real project of putting it back together. Esperanza didn't mind one bit, as it gave her more time to spend with her son. She thanked the gods for Leo every single day without fail. He was her everything. Esperanza had been told that she wouldn't have much time left with Leo. The thought was absolutely unbearable, so she tried not to dwell on it much. She couldn't imagine life without her amazingly crazy, funny and talented son. Esperanza tried to make everyday as happy and fun-filled as possible. She owed Leo that.

The engine wasn't done yet and Leo was determined to sketch it out to make sure he did everything properly. Esperanza could tell her was very skilled already, and would go on to build great things one day. She just knew it.

Esperanza struggled under the weight of the car engine, but managed to heave it back to the bench Leo was working at. He was chewing on the end of the mechanical pencil and staring at his paper with a crease between his eyebrows, as if he as frustrated. When he turned and saw Esperanza though, his face brightened considerably.

"Mama, I'm missing something," Leo said, turning his head back to his page and pointing at his sketch.

Esperanza dropped the car engine onto the bench in front of Leo and leant over him to examine his drawing. The lines were perfectly neat. The measurements scarily exact. Esperanza wondered how Leo got such negative report cards from school. 'Disruptive,' they would say 'Talkative, a class clown.' Though Esperanza didn't see Leo's wit and humour as a bad thing, all of his teachers seemed to.

Leo seemed to get fidgety as his mother looked over his sketch, so he stretched up and began to examine and fiddle with the engine set in front of him. Esperanza shook her head and smiled affectionately. He couldn't even sit still for five seconds.

"I think we need a new spark plug , Mama." Leo told her, still fiddling with the engine.

Esperanza nodded. "Yes we do, I'll check if we have one tomorrow. Oh and Leo, you didn't draw in the exhaust valve properly." She urged him kindly, pointing it out.

Leo grinned happily liked he just discovered the worlds biggest secret. "That's it! Thanks mom." He began frantically sketching.

Esperanza couldn't help smiling as the thought again occurred to her that her wonderful Leo would go on to do amazing things some day. He truly was a special person, a gift she could never give Hephaestus enough thanks for.

Esperanza sat down on a stool beside Leo as he drew. He tilted his head and beamed at her, showing of his famous smirk. A mix between a mischievous grin and a genuinely joyful smile which could brighten up anyone's day.

Leo tapped things out occasionally on the table in Morse code, things like 'Love you lots' to which Esperanza would reply with 'Love you more'.

He also cracked stupid jokes the entire time, like "Yesterday I tried to go to the paper shop, but it had blown away" and "What did the fish say when he swam into the wall? Dam!" This always resulted in Esperanza laughing loudly, and Leo grinning proudly at making his mother do so. He really was a clown sometimes, but without his sense of humour he wouldn't be Leo.

After quite a while Leo yawned and rubbed his eyes tiredly. Esperanza immediately noticed and stood up from her seat. "Okay Leo, you've done a great job tonight but it's time to go. It's getting late," She announced as she picked up her keys and other belongings. Leo quickly packed away his work and stood by the door, waiting for her.

He grinned goofily when Esperanza approached. She noticed a smudge of oil on his nose and chuckled. "What am I going to do with you Leo, my _chico tonto_." She questioned playfully, leaning down to wipe the oil off of his nose.

Leo's grinned just widened. "I don't know mama, I'm a _nino especia_l."

Esperanza took her son's hand and laughed. Nothing could ever make her happier than Leo could. "Yes, but you're my _nino especial._"

Leo looked up at her with wide, curious eyes. "Can every night be like this Mama?"

Esperanza sighed and kneeled down so she was somewhat at her son's height. "Not always mijo. I won't be here forever okay? But you're going to do amazing things when you grow up Leo, I'm sure of it. Amazing things without me. You have to promise me, though, to be the best Leo you can be for me. Always be your best, and think of me when you do, okay?"

Leo gave Esperanza a lopsided smile and nodded enthusiastically. "I promise mama. I love you."

Esperanza leant down to give him a loving kiss on the forehead.

"I love you too, _mijo._"


End file.
